‘Seeing my average does sting, but I’m done chasing stats’ – KL Rahul after magnificent century at Headingley

KL Rahul made some tough plays in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2024–2025. He was unable to receive a three-figure score, though. He got off to some good starts, but he lost his wicket just as he was about to get a lot of runs. During his 42-run knock in the opening innings of the current Headingley Test between India and England, Rahul appeared at ease. But his failure was caused by an expansive drive and a lack of focus.

KL Rahul was undefeated at 47 at the end of the second innings of India’s second day. Cheteshwar Pujara, a former cricketer for India, urged the Karnataka batsman to turn his start into a big score on Day 4. He did just that, scoring a magnificent 137 off 247 and forming a 195-run partnership with Rishabh Pant, which helped the tourists set a challenging target of 371 for England in the fourth innings.

Rahul acknowledged at the conclusion of Day 4’s play that he is bothered by his Test average, which is less than 35. The 33-year-old, however, stated that he is now more concerned with performing well for his nation and has given up on chasing numbers.

“Looking at my average hurts, of course. But I don’t want to think about numbers right now. I enjoy playing Test cricket for India and want to have an impact whenever I can. “I grew up loving it,” Rahul remarked in an interview with Sky Sports.

“Runs are all I am getting right now. I used to get starts, especially in tests, but I never turned them into high marks. I no longer chase numbers and my mind is considerably more at ease. “All I want to do is enjoy cricket as much as possible,” he continued.

I’ve returned to the fundamentals: KL Rahul

Rahul thanked Abhishek Nayar, the former assistant coach for India, for helping him get back to the fundamentals and put in more effort during practice sessions over the previous year and a half.

“Over the past 15 to 18 months, I have worked and spent a lot of time with him. I’m now doing time and getting back to the basics. I didn’t hit enough balls in international cricket at one point because I was more concerned with quality than quantity. I’m loving hitting a lot of balls in the nets again,” Rahul remarked.